ABB launches cloud energy management solution

ABB, a leading player in the global power technology industry has launched ABB Ability Electrical Distribution Control System, a breakthrough innovation for cloud-based energy management, for its US market.

The system connects a facility’s electrical equipment with the Internet of Things and leverages ABB circuit breaker’s built-in sensing and connectivity to provide the information and control functions to reduce total operating costs by up to 30 percent.

ABB Ability is a range of solutions that are digital and connected to allow ABB to support customers and optimize their assets. The ABB Ability™ Electrical Distribution Control System was launched in Europe in 2016.

Giampiero Frisio, Managing Director of ABB’s Protection and Connection business, said: “We launched the first ever circuit breaker with intelligent energy management, the ABB Emax 2, four years ago and we continue to innovate to ensure our customers benefit from cutting edge technology. We have now certified the system for the US market and know that our customers here will benefit from gaining intelligence about their electrical system so that they can maximize energy savings, productivity and safety.”

ABB Ability Electrical Distribution Control System has a cloud-based platform that processes data from the site’s electrical equipment to deliver analysis and make recommendations to optimize the performance of the electrical system. It enables the remote monitoring of plants, their energy consumption and costs at a glance to make it easier and faster to implement energy management strategies.

Giampiero added: “Having the right energy management strategy in place can reduce peak power consumption and deliver savings on electricity bills of up to 20 percent, depending on local tariffs. An additional 10 percent savings are possible through efficiency improvement actions, enabled monitoring of energy demands and costs.

“The solution is also scalable, to date we have linked to the cloud via our intelligent circuit breakers, but this could also be done in smaller buildings, including homes, by linking to the cloud from a miniature circuit breaker, for instance. This system can support remote monitoring and energy management in any electrical system.”

ABB Ability Electrical Distribution control system provides direct supervision of electrical assets and reporting functions. With alerts, immediate access to documentation and the remote diagnosis of devices, maintenance becomes simpler. When necessary, facility managers can take corrective action in a matter of minutes.

The solution has demonstrated benefits for customers in a range of applications across Europe and the Middle East. A water treatment facility in Italy, Consorzio di Bonifica Veronese confirmed a reduction in maintenance time of 40 percent and total operating costs down by a third. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), a major utility customer in the United Arab Emirates is using ABB Ability Electrical Distribution Control System to manage one of the largest rooftop solar installation of the region. Additionally, there are installations in a paper mill, in several factories and office buildings. The system can also support energy efficiency, asset management and cost reduction in shopping malls, events arenas and power plants.

ABB (ABB:NYSE) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a more than 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees.